As more mass shootings take more lives across America, new reports show more gun owners are heading to the range to sharpen their skills.

Calibers Shooting Range in Albuquerque confirmed to Action 7 News that they’ve been seeing an increase in gun owners coming into their range.

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“We see a lot of people shifting from just shooting for fun to shooting for self-defense, whether it's inside the home our outside the home,” pistol instructor Daniel Hutson said.

Hutson is a former Marine who, at one point, provided security detail for President George W. Bush. He was also a security contractor in Iraq.

According to Hutson, he said a growing number of people are coming in to get serious handgun training to learn how to defuse violent situations without firing a shot.

“Your ability to be prepared for a violent encounter whenever things happen is far more important than your ability to come in here and shoot a gun accurately,” Hutson said.

Hutson said he’s OK if this training trend continues. He added that he prefers gun owners to know what they’re doing with a firearm.

“A lot of people are incompetent about firearms, whether it’s firearm safety or deployment of that firearm during an event. So formal education is crucial no matter what we do with our life,” Hutson said.